The Observer

It all looks so serene from the in-car camera. Red and white kerbs flicker in and out of shot, the driver's white-gloved hands never leaving the wheel as they calmly make small, precise steering inputs. The smooth, grey track is a constant, soothing blur as walls, trees and catchfencing flash past against a steady blue-sky backdrop.

Then, bang. We are reminded that this sport is violent, that TV pictures are totally deceptive. This guy isn't cruising, he's on the edge of control - and now he has stepped over the line.

Off-line more like. Beyond the width of one F1 car are lumps of shed tyre rubber - 'marbles', as they are known, and for good reason. The white-gloved hands have no time to react as the car's trajectory slews left - and then comes the impact with the wall.

Live on British TV during Sunday teatime, Jacques Villeneuve has just illustrated how tough this game really is. Any viewer watching this will have taken a sharp intake of breath. The force of the crash is shocking.

Those white gloves are now off the steering wheel, palms raised up in an expression of "what happened there?" He's very understandably stunned - but at least it's a sign that he's conscious. Those TV viewers could be witnessing something gruesome here. But no, thanks to the mind-blowing strength of the modern F1 car, Jacques hops out and jogs away. Wow.

For a bloke like Villeneuve, this was one to shrug off. A shunt not of his making, caused by a wandering, ponderous Toyota driven by someone who should know better on a track as tricky as this. As the teams leave behind the memories of Montreal, Jacques will already be thinking about Indianapolis, and beyond.

Jacques Villeneuve, BMW-Sauber; 2006 Canadian Grand Prix at Montreal © LAT

He's a hardened pro, that's why. He's done worse: slamming Williamses and BARs off at the top of Eau Rouge springs to mind. He just shakes stuff like this off and comes back for more.

And in his tenth full season of F1 (he missed most of 2004 after losing his BAR drive), Jacques Villeneuve definitely wants more. That's despite the fact he probably accepted long ago, deep down, that he will never win a Grand Prix again; that his days of demanding multi-million dollar salaries are gone; that there are younger drivers out there who are quicker now.

But none of that matters to Villeneuve. All he cares about is his next fix. He's an adrenaline junkie who refers to driving F1 cars as "fun". This is what he does, and just like his friend David Coulthard, just like his nemesis Michael Schumacher, he simply doesn't want to stop.

The 1997 world champion is clearly a happy man at the moment. Away from the circuits, marriage and the prospect of family life is clearly suiting him. And that mood doesn't leave him when it's time to work.

Despite BMW's obvious doubts last winter about his suitability for their first F1 season going it alone, he is delivering on track just as he promised he would. And when he talks about the new generation of V8-powered cars his eyes light up behind those surprisingly thick-lensed specs. These cars are "fun".

Much has been made of his rejuvenation this year. Many expected the highly-rated Nick Heidfeld to seal the end of Villeneuve's career once and for all. Instead, there has been a period - around the San Marino and European GPs - where it seemed Heidfeld was losing the plot, that Villeneuve had gained the upper hand.

The truth is not as simple as that, and Heidfeld has once again shown the characteristic grit that saw him through the tough days at Prost and the disappointment of being overlooked by McLaren. This is a finely matched pair.

Take a look at this breakdown of their season so far. There's very little between them.

Bahrain GP: Heidfeld makes the cut in the first knockout qualifying session, Villeneuve does not. But Jacques is the best of the rest, lining up 11th, one place behind Nick. A first-corner tangle drops Heidfeld to 20th, but he is up to 12th by the flag, while Villeneuve shows promise and passes David Coulthard's Red Bull before his BMW V8 blows spectacularly.

Malaysian GP: Both drivers miss the cut in qualifying, but engine penalties for others leave them 10th and 11th on the grid, Villeneuve ahead of Heidfeld. Jacques puts in a solid performance to score points in seventh, but it is Heidfeld who impresses more. He is on for fifth place before his engine lets go.

Australian GP: An engine change before qualifying demotes Villeneuve to 19th on the grid. Heidfeld is a promising eighth even though BMW concentrate on race strategy rather than outright speed. As with Honda, the wrong choice of Michelin tyres badly hampers their races. But both drivers do well to come home fourth and sixth. With the right tyres, Heidfeld would probably have been third.

San Marino GP: Heidfeld crashes in qualifying, the resulting yellow flags ruining Villeneuve's chances of making the top 10. He lines up 12th, but just 0.17 seconds away from fifth place! A lack of grip hampers both BMWs in a frustrating race. Heidfeld finishes 13th; Villeneuve 12th.

Jacques Villeneuve, BMW-Sauber; 2006 European Grand Prix at the Nurburgring © LAT

European GP: Villeneuve shades Heidfeld all weekend at the Nurburgring. Jacques is a solid eighth in the top 10 shoot-out, only to lose his three best times for baulking Giancarlo Fisichella. Fortunately, he loses only one place on the grid. Heidfeld complains of a lack of grip and is down in 13th. A solid race from Jacques is rewarded with a point for eighth. Heidfeld is a lapped 10th.

Spanish GP: Heidfeld is back on top. He qualifies 10th, while Villeneuve is on the back foot straight away: engine changes mean he will start from the rear even before qualifying begins. Heidfeld adds to BMW's points tally with eighth, while Villeneuve can do no better than 12th.

Monaco GP: Both off the pace in qualifying, Villeneuve edging Heidfeld in 14th and 15th places. But Heidfeld outshines his teammate in the race, making up four places at the start and bringing it home seventh. Villeneuve has a frustrating afternoon with a slipping clutch, bad luck with traffic, and a penalty for overtaking under the safety car. He finishes where he qualified.

British GP: A strong performance from both BMWs. They make it into the top 10, Heidfeld lining up ninth, Villeneuve 10th. Nick again makes a storming start and finishes seventh despite a gearbox problem. Villeneuve hits Juan Pablo Montoya's McLaren at Copse and is then stuck behind Nico Rosberg's Williams. But good pitstop strategy and hard driving pushes him up to eighth.

Canadian GP: Flexi-wing controversy overshadows their speed in practice, then they fall away in qualifying. Villeneuve lines up 11th, Heidfeld 13th. Great starts push them up the order. Heidfeld finishes in the points again with seventh, but the local hero crashes out after sliding wide as he tries to lap Ralf Schumacher.

So at the half-way point of the season, Villeneuve leads Heidfeld 5-4 in qualifying but has scored seven points to Nick's 12 in the races. It's nip and tuck.

The problem is, Villeneuve is trying to build a case to make himself indispensable to BMW so that they re-sign him for 2007. And so far, he hasn't done enough.

Matching Heidfeld and proving capable of delivering results is all very well. But now he needs to step it up, beat Heidfeld more regularly and more convincingly, and put in a really storming race performance. It will require a dollop of luck, given BMW's performance level compared to Renault, Ferrari and McLaren. But the fact remains that Villeneuve needs a big result.

Perhaps the biggest problem he faces to keep his job comes in the shape of a young Polish driver who was little known in F1 circles before the start of this year: Robert Kubica.

BMW signed the Renault World Series champion as their third driver over the winter. Few people raised an eyebrow. But from the first race in Bahrain, where he topped the times in his very first official practice session, Kubica has been making waves - and BMW love him.

Given that Heidfeld has a rock-solid three-year deal, the prospects don't look good for Villeneuve. The smart money is on a Kubica/Heidfeld BMW line-up for next year. And JV's name hardly appears to be on the top of anyone else's list, as he knows only too well.

Personally, I would like to see Villeneuve race on for as long as he can be effective. Would anyone, Kubica included, really do more than he and Heidfeld have managed so far this year in an outfit that is still in the early stages of its metamorphosis from little, independent, middling Sauber? No, probably not.

But the perceptions of F1 are rarely fair. Villeneuve has been around long enough to understand that. Jacques also understands that, not for the first time, he is fighting for his F1 future.